Pennsylvania Republicans have been gasping for breath since Saturday morning, when Donald Trump surprised them with a last-minute endorsement of controversial State Sen. Doug Mastriano for governor.
Trump’s endorsement of Mastriano — who sought to thwart certification of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes for Joe Biden in the 2020 election — came as most elected Republicans were lining up behind former Rep. Lou Barletta in the primary Tuesday. The conservative Barletta was a vigorous backer of Trump in 2016 and ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2018 as a champion of the then-president.
Many feared that Mastriano would lose decisively to certain Democratic nominee and State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, and Republican office-holders and elected officials were lining up in full force behind Barletta.
In the days before Trump’s endorsement, state Senate President Jake Corman and former Rep. Melissa Hart ended their candidacies to weigh in for Barletta. State Sen. Scott Martin of Lancaster County, who ended his own bid for governor last month, also came out for Barletta.
“Had Trump endorsed Lou, it would’ve saved the day for everyone,” one veteran GOP observer of Pennsylvania politics told Newsmax. “Mastriano is a walking disaster who will lose badly and contaminate the rest of the ticket.”
On Sunday night, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs switched its endorsement from former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain to Barletta.
“Months ago, Commonwealth Partners began cautioning of the dangers of nominating Doug Mastriano, as he would not be able to win the swing voters necessary to win in November,” Commonwealth CEO Matt Brouillette said. “No other organization has come close to spending the millions our connected political action committee has spent to educate voters about the dangers of a Mastriano nomination.”
McSwain showed no signs of going anywhere. His spokesperson Rachel Tripp pointed out that he has been the top fundraiser in the race (an estimated $9 million) and “is fully committed to this race.” She added that McSwain was “proud to have served in the administration of President Trump.”
An Emerson Poll completed shortly after Trump’s endorsement this weekend showed Mastriano topping the field among likely voters with 34%, Barletta 22%, McSwain 12%, businessman Dave White 9%, and attorney Charlie Gerow 3%.
Some in Pennsylvania still believe Barletta can pull off an upset. Joseph DiSarro, a seasoned political scientist at Washington and Jefferson College, told Newsmax he believes “that Barletta will win and the 'stop Mastriano' movement is working in western Pennsylvania. Republicans understand that a Mastriano victory would be a pyrrhic and that it would have a bad impact on the lower part of the ticket.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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